January 2024 Newsletter
Happy New Year!
Welcome back to our (extremely) intermittent newsletter!
2023 was a busy year and we are already well into the beginning of the 2024 season.
We have an exciting year planned, and here are some updates about what’s going on at the farm.
Website Redesign
We took a look at the website and found it wasn’t doing quite what we wanted. So we gave it a fresh coat of paint and are pretty pleased with the results. We have a new events page where you can look at and eventually sign up for all of the activities we have planned for the year, some new pictures, and (hopefully) better organization so it is easier to find things.
Build your garden starter pack
Speaking of the website, we have build your garden starter packs available for purchase! Much like a CSA, these packs guarantee you plants for your home garden at a discounted price. It’s a great way to make sure you get your plants without worrying about us selling out.
Of course over the last few days we have been struggling with lots of ice. The heaters have been working hard to keep up with the cold - we hit a low of 17 degrees. Dusty, the farm cat, has taken a liking to laying on a heat mat during the cold weather.
CSA
You can reserve your CSA now, and payment can be made through our website. It’s hard to overestimate how helpful your early payment is to our annual cash flow. Our last significant income came from the Pumpkin Patch back in October. At this time of year, we are buying seeds, pruning berries and fruit trees, and getting ready for June. CSA payments help to tide us over until the Farm Stand opens in six weeks.
If you had a CSA last year, look for an email from us explaining how and where to pay. We are in the process of updating our email system to get our emails into your inbox, but you might want to check your spam folder, just in case. If you didn’t have a CSA last year and would like to be on our wait list, click here and let us know about your interest.
We’re Hiring
Each year, we employ about 15 people. About a third of these are full-time during the height of the season, with the remainder part-time pickers, weeders, packers, and baker’s assistants. This year, we hope to hire a full-time, permanent position to supervise the production of vegetables. This team member needs to have experience growing things, and be able to work alongside our part-time workers. It will be full-time during the growing season (March – October) and part-time through the winter months. A complete description can be found on our website by clicking here.
We are also looking for an assistant baker. A job description will be posted soon, but until then, if you are interested, please email bakery@blackberrybogfarm.com
“Do you guys do anything during the winter?”
Pelleted Easy Wave petunia seeds - small but mighty
Blackberry Bog Farm
In October, we start planning for the next year. Seeds need to be ordered, paperwork needs finished, and plans need to be drawn up. This year on December 22nd the first big batch of seeds was planted. Every year we grow around 250 plant types, such as basil, broccoli, and peppers. This number doesn’t count the different varieties of each of those plants - 10 varieties of basil, 4 types of broccoli, and 20 different peppers. If you start counting varieties of plants, we have around 735, although that’s a much more difficult number to pin down. All of those varieties need to be planted or propagated, and that takes a large amount of our time in the early winter months.
We plant 10’s of thousands of seeds each year, and buy in several thousand rooted cuttings, especially for flowers like the “Sky” series of petunias, which can’t be started from seed. We stick with the varieties that have worked for us in the past, but we always like to try a few new things. With the addition of more high tunnel space in Brownsmead, we hope to be able to grow eggplant and sweet potatoes again. We also plan to bring back the purple and orange cauliflower – I can’t really tell the difference in taste, but the appearance is spectacular! Pansy seeds were planted weeks ago, and we’re just getting ready for the first round of peppers, tomatoes, and petunias. That means it’s time to make a run to Hillsboro for potting soil and germination mix, and we’re off!
Last year we had plentiful crops of blueberries and tree fruits - it was the first time since we planted the orchard in 2018 that we were able to sell peaches and plums. Over the next six weeks, all of the berries and fruits trees – about 2 acres – will be pruned. As the trees and bushes grow, this becomes a more formidable task each year.
Petunia plants. It might not look like it, but these tiny little things will grow up to be spectacularly large hanging baskets.
Brownsmead Bog Farm
In September of 2022, Bonnie and Scott moved to a new farm in Brownsmead. Over the winter of 22-23, they put up 4000 feet of exclusion fencing encircling about 20 acres of land. The summer of 2023 was the first time that the land had been planted in vegetables for several decades. The first year, we concentrated on crops that would only need to be harvested at the end of the season, like pumpkins, winter squash, onions and potatoes. We really didn’t know what to expect – it had been so long since it had been cropped. The crops came off really well, just as all the neighbors had predicted.
This season, we plan to move almost all of the annual vegetable production to Brownsmead. Cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, and peppers will all be moving. We purchased a used walk-in cooler last fall, and will pick, wash and pack in Brownsmead, but sell at Blackberry Bog. Berries and fruits will still be grown at Blackberry Bog. Last fall, Scott plowed another five acres of ground. We will expand our plantings onto some of that ground, while continuing to use the three acres that we planted last year.
We received funding from the United States Department of Agriculture that helped install a high tunnel in Brownsmead. A high tunnel is a greenhouse structure, and we plant in the ground under the plastic. This year, we will plant our tomatoes, eggplant and peppers in Brownsmead, and the high tunnels at Blackberry will contain cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and herbs.
We hope to hold an open house at the new farm in Brownsmead – follow us on Facebook for details.
Cardamom Bread, a few of the 60+ loaves we baked just before Christmas
Blackberry Bog Bakery
The bakery had a great year – thanks for the support! In addition to attending the Seaside Farmers Market on Wednesdays, Ashley had baked goods at the Astoria Sunday Market. It didn’t take long for her to establish a loyal following – she sold out every week! After the Sunday Market, pumpkin cinnamon rolls returned to our Pumpkin Patch, much to the relief of all the people who had been patiently waiting since last October. The Bakery also attended the Winter Market at the Astoria Armory, made pies for Thanksgiving, and cardamom bread for Christmas.
We will be at the Nordic Market at Suomi Hall on February 17th with cardamom bread, scones, and cookies!
The Farm Stand
The Farm Stand will open the first weekend in March. We plan to be open five days per week this year: Friday through Tuesday. We will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, but on Wednesdays you can find us at the Seaside Farmers Market, starting in June.
Initially, we will have cool season vegetable starts, pansies and violas, and perennials. You can look forward to hellebores, lilacs, forsythias, daphne, and, of course, delicious baked goods.